


we could dance all night long

by matchapoets



Category: X1 (Korea Band)
Genre: M/M, nerd wooseok, retro vibes, school au, this is just fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-11
Updated: 2020-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:14:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23099929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/matchapoets/pseuds/matchapoets
Summary: Wooseok could never understand boys like Seungyoun. That is, until Seungyoun was able to show him otherwise.
Relationships: Cho Seungyeon | Seungyoun/Kim Wooseok | Wooshin
Comments: 7
Kudos: 128





	we could dance all night long

**Author's Note:**

> i FINALLY got around to watching pdx & this idea planted itself in my brain so my brain said u gotta write it & now it’s here??
> 
> i hav nothing to plug other than x1 reboot pls

The cafeteria was always such a zoo, in Wooseok’s opinion.

He had mastered the art of focusing on studying even over the loud talking and shouts of kids nearby. Multitasking had become a strong point of his as classes grew more demanding, as he learned how to shovel food in his mouth, absorb information from a textbook, and keep one ear on the conversation of his friends sitting around him. It was much the same today.

“Are you ever going to look up from that book? You’re a senior, I thought you didn’t have to study as hard,” Yohan asked from beside him. Wooseok tore his eyes away from the biology diagram he had been trying to make sense of, pushing up his glasses at the same time.

“I still have tests to study for,” Wooseok told his younger friend, ruffling his hair just to bother him. Yohan was stressed a lot, but he was also in the hardest year of school and was simultaneously drowning in elite taekwondo competitions. Wooseok constantly reminded him he was doing well despite that.

“Do you think he’s looking at me? I think he’s looking at me, oh god, what do I do?” Dongpyo asked besides Yohan, trying very hard not to look over at the table across the cafeteria, but Wooseok could see he was failing. 

“Maybe he is,” Seungwoo answered nonchalantly, looking up from his phone to give a knowing glance at Wooseok, and they both smirked a little at the youngest’s antics.

Wooseok looked for himself towards the table Dongpyo was focused on. It was filled with the boys of a friend group that was a bit notorious at their school for their popularity. Wooseok himself didn’t much understand their parties and attitudes since he couldn’t think how they would ever be a priority for him to attend when he had the aforementioned tests to study for, but he could acknowledge they were attractive. At least that would make them popular.

“Do you think I should help Hyeongjun again during calculus or is that too much? Am I too obvious?” Dongpyo turned, his features worried in an endearing way as he looked to Wooseok for help. Before Wooseok could even reply however, the younger boy had already hid his face in his hands from embarrassment, his history notes forgotten in front of him.

“I’m too obvious,” Dongpyo said, muffled into his hands and Wooseok suppressed a giggle.

“Hyeongjun could like you too, you never know,” Wooseok offered. Seungwoo snorted and Wooseok shushed him under his breath, sparing a glance at Dongpyo to make sure he hadn’t heard. 

It was proof enough to the older boys that the boy Dongpyo was in such a tizzy about definitely _did_ like him back. If the way he was ignoring the girls talking to him across the cafeteria and watching their table was anything to go by.

But Wooseok wasn’t going to say anything. Hyeongjun would have to make his own move. 

“They’re having another party this weekend, you know. Chaewon was telling me about it last class,” Yohan said. Dongpyo perked up and began pestering Yohan for details while Wooseok scoffed.

“I’m not going,” he announced. 

“What if Seungyoun asks you to again?” Seungwoo asked. Wooseok gave him a pointed glance.

Of all the boys, including Hyeongjun, that sat at the table deemed for high school royalty, Cho Seungyoun was by far the most popular. Wooseok had harbored an embarrassing crush on him freshman year, one that Seungwoo wouldn’t let him live down, even though Seungyoun didn’t even know his name. It’s been years since then, and Wooseok ironically found himself seated close to him in a few classes, and since Seungyoun had met Wooseok, he had always tried to make conversation in class. 

Wooseok knew Seungyoun was attractive, of course. But he was past that; and anyway, he didn’t want to end up in the gossip circles if he were to crush on him again anyway.

“It’s senior year. You’re already accepted for college. You should go to just one party,” Seungwoo offered. Wooseok shot him down again, looking back down at his textbook, but the words were swimming on the page, unfocused by the thoughts in his head.

Wooseok didn’t ever think of going to parties. He thought they were the grandest waste of time. But he let the idea of it pass through his head for a moment; Seungyoun had let him know a couple of times before. What would it be like to go to a party thrown by one of the hottest guys in school?

The fantasy lived in his head long enough for him to sneak another look at the lunch table where he sat. There were probably twenty people there, some of them standing from lack of seats. Seungyoun said something before he threw his head back laughing as Wooseok watched, the rest of the table roaring in laughter at the joke. Anyone could tell he was the star of it all.

But as the rest of the group gathered around Seungyoun was distracted, he turned and looked straight at Wooseok.

—-

It was at that point in the year where class was starting to fall apart as the school break loomed closer and closer.

The lecture had ended early, and the fact that it was Friday was enough for the teacher to be lenient enough with how loud people were talking, clearly not focused on the assignment they were supposed to be doing. Wooseok was ignoring it as usual, head down as he tried to scribble a halfway thought-through answer on his sheet, wanting to finish enough to not have to do it at home. He was pulled from his actions by a tap on his back.

He turned and there was Seungyoun, his paper blank in front of him, but still wearing his endlessly bright smile in Wooseok’s direction. When he had first smiled this close to Wooseok in the beginning of the year, Wooseok had taken a second to get over the stunned feeling he got before answering whatever question Seungyoun was asking. The effect had lessened over the months, but Wooseok was still surprised by how attractive the other boy was.

“Wooseok, are you free tomorrow?” Seungyoun asked and Wooseok already knew where this was going.

“Is this about the party I’ve been hearing about?” Wooseok asked, turning more in his chair to look at Seungyoun. He dropped his gaze, trying to hide that looking Seungyoun straight in the eyes had always been a little intimidating.

“You do hear about them?” Seungyoun smiled again, leaning back in his chair. Wooseok fought the urge to roll his eyes.

“Of course I do,” he replied. Didn’t Seungyoun know people were killing to get into those parties? It wasn’t just Dongpyo who didn’t understand why Wooseok always rejected Seungyoun’s invitations. Though Wooseok didn’t understand why he kept receiving them.

“Well, are you planning to go this time?” Seungyoun asked. 

Wooseok just raised his eyebrows at him.

“Okay, I knew that was a long shot,” Seungyoun said, and he laughed. Wooseok tried to ignore the way the laugh was a little too endearing. 

“Okay, but actually I need to get some stuff for it tonight,” Seungyoun said, leaning forward in his chair. His face was closer to Wooseok now.

“Do you want to come along?” Seungyoun asked.

It took Wooseok a few seconds to process the words. Wait, what? They weren’t even friends. What was Seungyoun thinking?

“Why me? Are your friends busy?” Wooseok asked, suspicious.

“No, but they’re too lazy to join me on these things, and I want some company,” Seungyoun answered. 

Wooseok didn’t reply, still a little in shock. Seungyoun wanted to go out alone with him? I mean, it was just errands, but still. The freshman Wooseok would have been dying at the opportunity.

“What do you say? Studying, or just a few hours with me? I won’t take too long,” Seungyoun asked, flashing him another one of those slightly contagious smiles. Wooseok glanced down quickly to hide his expression.

Yohan had been pestering him to let up on the studying, and though Wooseok was morally opposed to parties, this wasn’t exactly a party invitation. Wooseok looked up at Seungyoun again, who was watching him with the kind of attention that would have made his crush years ago flare up dramatically.

“Sure,” Wooseok said before he really thought about it. Seungyoun smiled widely and something stirred in Wooseok’s chest. 

“I’ll meet you at the front after school then,” Seungyoun said, looking satisfied. Wooseok turned back to his paper, having forgotten entirely what he was doing.

Was Seungyoun so popular that he had the confidence to hang out with anyone? Or was Wooseok special?

As his heart squeezed strangely at the second thought, he wondered if that pesky freshman crush had actually gone away entirely.

—-

_i don’t need a ride_

He sent the text to Seungwoo at five minutes until the last bell of the day, his backpack already on. Seungwoo always took him to and from school. There hadn’t been a day this school year where he hadn’t.

_what?? why??_

Wooseok sighed. After what he’d said at lunch, he knew he was going to get an earful from his best friend when he figured out the truth.

_tell you later_

Wooseok sent the evading response quickly and put his phone in his bag, not wanting to answer just yet. 

The bell rang and Wooseok walked fast through the hall, strangely excited. His stomach was turning with light nerves as he pushed the front door of the school open, walking to the side to avoid the stampede of kids leaving and searching for Seungyoun.

He finally spotted him, saying something to a pair of girls Wooseok didn’t recognize and laughing as he waved goodbye to them. Wooseok didn’t walk towards him, an irrational fear of seeming strange next to him going through his head. Seungyoun seemed to be friends with everyone, even people Wooseok had never seen before, and it made Wooseok feel small and wonder again if maybe Seungyoun wasn’t actually doing anything special when this outing was an anomaly for Wooseok.

The thoughts were still going through his head when Seungyoun saw Wooseok, smiling as their eyes met and Wooseok looked away. He followed when Seungyoun waved him towards the parking lot, heading to Seungyoun’s car.

“Please don’t be a bad driver,” Wooseok said by way of greeting and Seungyoun pouted at him, completely unexpectedly. Wooseok had to bite his lip to hide from smiling at the expression.

“Why would you think I’d be a bad driver?” Seungyoun asked, amused.

“I don’t know. It’s a vibe,” Wooseok replied. Seungyoun pressed on the button on his keys and a black jeep close to them beeped, its headlights turning on.

“I mean, I don’t even bring a backpack to school, so I get it,” Seungyoun responded. He stopped walking and held a hand out expectantly. Wooseok looked at him strangely.

“Give me your bag. I’ll put it up for you,” Seungyoun offered and Wooseok blinked.

 _That’s strangely nice_ , Wooseok thought, slipping the bag off his shoulders and holding it out. Seungyoun took it and put it in the back of the car.

“Do you carry bricks to class?” Seungyoun asked, and Wooseok shook his head. He knew his bag was heavy, but the fact that Seungyoun was so taken aback was funny.

They started driving, leaving the crowded parking lot and going down the street. It was a different route than the way to Wooseok’s house and he took the time to just look out the window. It hadn’t occurred to him then that he hadn’t really looked around at the town in a while, always worrying about a project due date or the assignments due the next day. But right then the sky was blue and cloudless, and it felt liberating.

Seungyoun was humming next to Wooseok as he drove, and though Wooseok still couldn’t get over the weird nerves of being here in the passenger seat of his car with the most popular guy at school, it was pleasant. After a few minutes, Seungyoun turned on the radio, letting the latest hits play as he started singing and rapping along, knowing all the lyrics and being infuriatingly good. Wooseok was impressed but tried not to show it.

“Do you want to go get something to eat?” Seungyoun asked from the driver’s seat, and Wooseok looked at him curiously. His eyes lingered on Seungyoun’s profile for too long, taking in his features for longer than was necessary. He cleared his throat.

“I thought we were getting stuff,” Wooseok answered. He didn’t know what trick Seungyoun was pulling. 

“Yeah, well, I’m hungry. And there’s a good diner nearby you need to try,” Seungyoun answered naturally. They pulled up to a red light and Seungyoun turned to face him.

“Do you want some?” 

Seungyoun was looking straight into his eyes, one hand on the wheel and with a questioning look on his face. Wooseok looked down at the console in between them, pushing up his glasses. They were already pushed up but it was a nervous tick of Wooseok’s. He thought about the offer. What did he really have to lose?

“Sure. Take me there,” Wooseok answered, giving Seungyoun a small smile. The light turned green but right before Seungyoun looked back at the road, he flashed Wooseok another one of those blinding smiles.

\---

When Seungyoun opened the door to the diner, Wooseok couldn’t help his surprise.

Maybe he was a bit cliche, but he had always liked the retro, mid century look of old diners, and this one fit every single one of his expectations of one. The waiters were even on roller skates, for goodness’ sake. But the vibe of the black and white checker tiles making up the floor, the red booths, and the large vintage karaoke machine against one wall completed the diner’s look.

“How come I’ve never known this was here?” Wooseok asked, still stuck in the doorway as Seungyoun closed the door behind him. Seungyoun turned to face him and raised an eyebrow.

“Why don’t you ask all the textbooks in your backpack?” Seungyoun asked. 

Wooseok’s face brightened and he looked down, a small smile playing on his lips. Seungyoun was right, but it didn’t stop Wooseok from being flustered. Seungyoun took his hand and led him to one of the empty booths, sitting across from him. Wooseok tried to ignore the way he could still feel Seungyoun’s hand in his after he had let go.

It had been a while since Wooseok had simply sat down to eat without also scrolling through his phone or with a book open in front of him and he didn’t quite know where to put his hands or look. He ended up sitting on them, rocking a little back and forth in the booth and looking at the table in front of him. 

A waitress rolled up in front of them, greeting Seungyoun by name, to Wooseok’s surprise. They weren’t given menus, and it was only when he realized Seungyoun had ordered two shakes and burgers that he hadn’t given Wooseok an option to order.

“Just trust me,” Seungyoun said, and Wooseok realized the question must have been written on his face. Seungyoun rested one arm along the back of the booth and gave him a teasing smile.

Their order arrived soon enough and Seungyoun dug in first while Wooseok watched, taking a sip from the straw for the huge vanilla shake. Wooseok eyed his own cautiously. There was no way he’d be able to finish this.

“Just try it,” Seungyoun asked, and Wooseok turned away from the shake to look at him. Seungyoun was looking so expectantly at him that it was a little intimidating, and Wooseok swallowed, turning back to the shake. He took a tentative sip and felt his eyes widen as the vanilla flavor exploded in his mouth perfectly.

Wooseok heard a laugh and looked up to meet Seungyoun’s eyes, embarrassed. But Seungyoun’s laugh seemed to light up his whole face - his teeth were showing and eyes had turned into crescents and Wooseok was more than a little endeared. Wooseok laughed once too, covering his mouth and ignoring the way his heart fluttered.

Who was he? It had been years since he had been this affected by Seungyoun, and he was certain he was past that. Now though, he wasn’t so sure.

“I knew you would like it,” Seungyoun said, matter-of-factly. He looked a little smug now and Wooseok scoffed, similar to how he had with his friends earlier. He wished he could play it off like he could so easily with his friends, but Seungyoun infuriatingly seemed to know the right things to say and do that would catch Wooseok off guard.

They ate, Wooseok much faster than he usually did because Seungyoun had been right and the hamburger was good. Seungyoun talked more than Wooseok did, telling him a story that had him doubling over in laughter, more than he had in a long time. He couldn’t help thinking that this was probably much better than his original plans for the night of just staying in and studying. Seungyoun seemed to be larger than life, or at least much larger than the bubble of life Wooseok had created for himself that seemed to revolve around his coursework, and Wooseok was seeing more and more of that as Seungyoun recounted more stories.

The waitress came back and picked up their food but the two stayed there long after, as the diner emptied a little more. Eventually Seungyoun stood up and Wooseok followed, not noticing as Seungyoun’s eyes caught the jukebox still standing against the wall.

“Hey, Wooseok.” Seungyoun asked. Wooseok turned, noticing immediately in Seungyoun’s face that he had a plan, one that would push Wooseok out of his comfort zone for not the first time tonight. He was also trying not to linger on the way Seungyoun’s voice had sounded saying his name, which was much nicer than he had expected.

“What if I sing something?” Seungyoun asked, walking over to the vintage machine. Wooseok’s eyes went wide.

“Oh goodness, please don’t,” Wooseok began, wincing when Seungyoun smacked the side of the machine, making a sound that was definitely loud enough to gather attention. Seungyoun looked over the machine, trying to figure out how to work it while Wooseok stepped closer nervously.

“It probably doesn’t work,” Wooseok tried to protest again but he was cut off to his dismay when Seungyoun turned a dial and pushed a button and the instrumental to a famous song from decades past began playing through the speaker.

“There’s people watching,” Wooseok said desperately one more time, but Seungyoun gestured to the diner with a raised eyebrow. There was only one other pair sitting at a table on the far end of the diner and a single waitress that had been going in and out of the swinging kitchen door. They had stayed long past rush hour.

Wooseok was still watching the other customers nervously, hoping with all his might that they weren’t extremely bothered when Seungyoun began to sing and Wooseok whirled around.

Seungyoun had sat down in the nearest booth and was posing like he was in a music video, singing along to the lyrics as he held up one hand as if it was a microphone. Wooseok was in shock at how confident he was, though it wasn’t misplaced; Seungyoun was good at singing. Wooseok had noticed it in the car earlier, but he hadn’t expected Seungyoun to sing like this so publicly.

Seungyoun got up and began walking over to Wooseok, doing a fancy dance step on the way that made Wooseok snort. When Wooseok turned back to the other customers, they gave him an amused smile, but ultimately turned back to their conversation. Wooseok had been too mortified to note it, but the music wasn’t actually loud enough to be bothersome in the first place, and he relaxed a little.

Seungyoun took his hand and twirled him once, making Wooseok let out a small yelp. Seungyoun was still singing but a laugh escaped at Wooseok’s reaction.

“Dance with me!” Seungyoun asked, still pretending to hold a microphone as he began dancing. Wooseok was in awe at how he let himself go, without a care for the rest of the place. 

Seungyoun had already shown him this place, which was somewhere he would have enjoyed if he had allowed himself to look for it. Who knew if maybe dancing and singing in a public place was something Seungyoun knew Wooseok would like too? All he had to do was try.

So he did. Wooseok wouldn’t have thought he would ever dance for fun, period, and if he had been asked a few days ago if he imagined himself spending a Friday night in a retro-themed diner with Cho Seungyoun, he would have thought it was crazy. But Wooseok danced along with Seungyoun, copying his moves and letting Seungyoun take his hand and lead. And by the end of the song, Wooseok had been singing just as loud as Seungyoun was.

He didn’t realize he was out of breath until the song faded and Seungyoun smiled, shaking out his hair and fixing it. There was a small ring of claps in the diner and Wooseok turned to see the other customers paying for their meal, but both of them and the waitress were smiling at the two of them. Wooseok was surprised to realize he had forgotten they were there, and immediately turned red, waving the attention away.

Wooseok noticed a funny thing as he turned to Seungyoun then, seeing Seungyoun looking at him thoughtfully. Seungyoun’s eyes were more focused on him then than they had been all night and Wooseok felt exposed under the attention, flicking his own gaze down to the floor and pushing up his glasses.

“What?” Wooseok asked, and for the first time Seungyoun looked off guard instead of him. Seungyoun shook his head and waved him off, but a small smile remained.

“It’s nothing. Let’s get out of here,” Seungyoun said.

They had already paid before and Seungyoun gathered his jacket from their booth, Wooseok waiting for him. Wooseok held out his hand for Seungyoun to take it so they could leave, and Seungyoun looked at him in the same thoughtful way as his hand closed around Wooseok’s. Wooseok tried to ignore the attention, but thoughts began racing in his head as they left, the bell above the door ringing cheerfully as they left.

Wooseok hadn’t noticed it as they were inside, but the sky was streaked with pink, orange, and purple, signs of the sun having dropped in the sky and night getting closer. He checked his phone and realized he had spent hours with Seungyoun, not even noticing the time passing as they talked. It was fascinating - he had never thought he could enjoy someone’s company so much time seemed to disappear.

Wooseok stopped halfway across the empty parking lot, Seungyoun’s car the only one left. For some reason they felt alone in this little world with the diner, and Wooseok wasn’t ready to leave it, not with his newfound confidence and this boy that had shown him so much more than he thought he could. Wooseok had more courage than he thought he could have now.

“You didn’t actually need to get stuff for the party, did you?” Wooseok asked. Seungyoun was standing close to the driver’s door of his car and he gave Wooseok a smile that told him all he needed to know. Wooseok joined him, standing close and smiling too.

“So why’d you ask me to come?” Wooseok asked, lowering his voice. They were close enough now that it felt intimate, something he would usually have avoided at all costs. But his heart was racing and he had already gotten this far.

Seungyoun licked his lips and looked down at the concrete, not meeting Wooseok’s gaze for a second. Wooseok admired again the way the dimmer light of the fading day seemed to hit Seungyoun’s face in just the right ways, making him seem like he was glowing, though Wooseok would have said he was attractive enough without the added effect.

“Would you believe me if I said I just really wanted to spend time with you?” Seungyoun asked, his voice lowering to match Wooseok’s, and the question added with his tone made a shiver run down Wooseok’s spine. Seungyoun looked nervous and Wooseok was relishing in the idea that he was the one making Seungyoun, practically high school royalty, act like this. He stepped even closer, their faces only inches apart now.

Seungyoun’s face up close was unfairly as beautiful as far away, and Wooseok felt like he could look into his eyes and see the mutual attraction here just fine. But he wanted Seungyoun to say it.

Wooseok felt like his heart was beating loud enough for Seungyoun to hear it, but it was more alive than he had felt in a long time.

“Will you kiss me, Cho Seungyoun?” He added, voice quiet enough it was almost a whisper. 

He saw Seungyoun’s eyes flick down to his lips before he met his eyes again, and Wooseok barely had time for the corner of his lips to start turning up in smug success when Seungyoun leaned forward and closed the space between them, kissing him. Wooseok closed his eyes and gripped the front of Seungyoun’s jacket in fists, pulling him closer as he felt Seungyoun start to pull away. Seungyoun smiled against his lips as he kissed him again, running one hand up his back and stopping at the back of his neck, his fingers playing with the ends of Wooseok’s hair. Wooseok felt his knees go weak as he kissed him back, his heart skipping a beat and adrenaline coursing through his veins.

When they finally pulled apart, Wooseok looked up into Seungyoun’s eyes, seeing the way they were scanning over his own before they both broke into laughter. Wooseok couldn’t think of any other word to describe Seungyoun other than beautiful, and he couldn’t resist pulling him in for one last kiss. Seungyoun pulled away gently and pressed his forehead against Wooseok, reaching his hand further into Wooseok’s hair. 

“We should probably go,” Seungyoun said finally, and Wooseok sighed. He pulled away from Seungyoun and looked at the diner. 

This morning, he hadn’t thought tonight would be magical. He didn’t believe in magic. But in that diner with Seungyoun, he had blossomed in a way that seemed impossible otherwise. 

“You ready?” Seungyoun asked, looking at him expectantly. His hand was still in Wooseok’s, and Wooseok had a gut feeling of certainty that if he kept holding onto this hand, he would find magic everywhere, not just tonight.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

**Author's Note:**

> pls leave a comment or kudos if u liked it i live for them & thank u for reading <3


End file.
